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Aviation History
1918
1918 - 0145.PDF
FEBRUARY 7, 1918. enough men to maintain our armies in the field, we must withdraw from our industries a large number of men who are fit for general service and who have hitherto been " protected." The A.S.E. claims that none of its young, skilled men should be recruited until all the " dilutees " have been taken. That is to say, the man of over 40, with a wife and five or six children, who was drafted into the engineering trade since the war, is to be taken for military service before the single young fellow of two-and-twenty who was fortunate enough to be serving his time when the war overtook us. It is perfectly clear that the requisite number of general service men cannot be obtained from among the dilutees, and it is general service men that are wanted—not the C3 men at all. But the attitude of the A.S.E. is: Not a single general service man from our ranks until you have combed-out every dilutee, whether he be blind, halt or lame ! That is, briefly, the way the matter appeals to us, when it is divested of the mass of argument and counter-argument in which the issues have been involved. If the Government, with the whole sense of the thinking community behind it in any proper action it cares to take in the matter, will tolerate this sort of thing, then all we have to say is : Heaven help us, for we are past helping ourselves. Lest any of our readers should be underGerman any delusions as to the aims of GermanyDreams j n entering upon the war, it may be Conquest. as wen to draw attention to a pamphlet, of which a translation has been published in America, written by one Herr August Thyssen, son of the famous " King Thyssen," the Rhenish multi- millionaire coal-owner. His object in writing this pamphlet, he says, is to open the eyes of Germans to the facts. In 1912 the Hohenzollerns, he alleges, said that war had become necessary to the preservation of the military system upon which their power rests. They then proceeded to enlist the support of the business community on the ground that war would be a paying proposition. The manner in which it was airily proposed to cut up the British Empire is set forth by the writer as follows :— " I was personally promised a free grant of 30,000 acres in Australia and a loan from the Deutsche Bank of 750,000 dollars (^150,000) at 3 per cent., to enable me to develop my business in Australia. Several other firms were promised special trading facilities in India, which Was to be conquered by Germany—be it noted, by the end of 1915. A syndicate was formed for the exploitation of Canada. This syndicate consisted of the heads of 12 great firms, and the working capital Was fixed at $100,000,000 (/2o,ooo,ooo), half of which was to be found by the German Government. " These promises Were not vaguely given. They were made definitely by Herr von Bethmann Hollweg on behalf of the Emperor to gatherings of business men and in many cases to manufacturers. I have mentioned the promise of a grant of 30,000 acres in Australia made to me. Promises of a similar kind were made to at least 80 other persons at special interviews with the Chancellor, and particulars of these promises were entered in a book at the Trade Depart- ment. " But not only were these promises made by the Chancellor, they Were confirmed by the Emperor, who on three occasions addressed large private gatherings of business men in Berlin, Munich, and Cassel in 1912 and 1913. I was at one of these gatherings. The Emperor's speech Was one of the most flowery orations I have heard. The Emperor was particularlyenthusiastic over the coming German conquest of India. India,' he said, ' is occupied by [the British ; it is, ina way, governed by the British ; but it is by no means com- pletely governed by them. We shall not merely occupyIndia, we shall conquer it; and the vast revenues that the British allow to be taken by Indian princes will, after ourconquest, flow in a golden stream into the Fatherland. In all the richest lands of the earth the German flag will fly overevery other flag.' " There is some reason to believe that Herr Thyssen has written this pamphlet while smarting under a sense of injustice alleged to have been done by his father, who appears to be trying to disinherit him. Accord- ing to all accounts, this Thyssen junior is a pretty specimen of the species scallywag, but in that he is no more than true to type, and there is thus no reason for disbelieving the story he tells with so much cir- cumstantial detail. Besides, it fits in with all the ascertained historical facts of German preparation for the war which was to end with Deutschland iiber Alles, but looks like having a very different finale if our people remain true to themselves and their traditions. However hopeful the Hun may be of still being able to snatch a belated victory in the field, he does not seem to be under any delusions as to the reception he is likely to get when he assumes the role of peaceful bagman and sets out to do business with the world again. According to Herr Thyssen, the German Foreign Trade Department issued a circular last March to business houses in Germany, advising on their course of action after the war. This precious circular sets forth that : " It Will be wise for employers who have foreign trade interests to employ agents in foreign countries who can pass themselves off as being of French or British birth. German agents and travellers will probably, for some time after the war, have difficulty in doing business, not only in enemy countries, but in neutral countries." So that is the way the game is to be worked ! No doubt a good many of the Huns now being treated in princely fashion in British internment camps are busily fitting themselves by learning good idiomatic English for the task of passing themselves off as " being of British birth." But we are a lot wiser now than we were in 1914, and the Hun will have to evolve a cleverer scheme than that to get his goods into the markets which are controlled by the British—unless, which is not the most improbable thing in the world—our benevolent Government extends the same hospitality to the enemy alien as he enjoyed before the war. Nothing of that sort would surprise us. In such a case, however, we believe we can rely on the memories of our countrymen to see that never again shall the Hun obtain through liberty to trade in our markets the colossal wealth which alone enabled him to prepare for his insane war for world domination. But it ought not to be left at that. The very first thing that will have to be done after the war is to tighten up the Aliens Act, so that it may become a really effective measure for keeping out undesirables whether they attempt to come in via the saloon or the steerage, and not the mere travesty it was before 1914. If that is done, there need be no fear of any more " peaceful penetration "—because every Hun is an "undesirable " anyway. •/. - ; The Air Board and the Hotel Cecil. THE claim of the Hotel Cecil Company for compensation in connection with the requisition of the Hotel for the Air Board was before the War Losses Commission on January 30th, but was adjourned to enable an involved point of law affecting the position as to the contract between the Constitutional Club and the Hotel Company to be argued. The company claimed £55,203 per year, with an additional amount to cover rent, retaining fees to staffs, &c. An immediate payment to claimants of ^38,000 was ordered. 141 G 2
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